We live in a world that thrives on security, safety, and opportunities for better living. Although the demands have changed with every generation, the underlying expectations have remained intact. Speaking of generations, the millennial and GenZ generations have unique expectations regarding living and working spaces inspired by innovative amenities, technology integration, lifestyle quality, etc.
Since the pandemic hit, many industries, including the Real Estate sector, demand a new and value-driven approach. The Real Estate players need to consider key values such as transparency, empowerment, focus, and compassion in future projects to attract a large pool of investors. When an industry like Real Estate is plagued by such challenges, traditional approaches become obsolete. For the last twenty-one years, Aurum Ventures Pvt. Ltd. has been displaying out-of-the-box thinking and a value-investment-focused approach for long-term aspirations in the Real Estate sector.
Led by the quintessential and maverick leader, Mr Ashish Deora, Founder and CEO, this multinational company, headquartered in Mumbai, is truly redefining the next-gen Indian Real Estate arena.
Bringing Dreams to Reality
Ashish is a first-generation entrepreneur who laid the foundation of Aurum Ventures back in 1996 when he was only 21 years old. Over the years, he has passionately led the company to new heights and achievements while preserving its core values. Ashish holds a broad interest in core high-growth sectors like financial services, mineral exploration, and Real Estate. His strength in identifying iconic opportunities in the early stages and concluding transactions at an unmatched pace defines his stature in this industry. Simultaneously, he spends a lot of time with his team, ensuring focus on the minutest details.
Ashish completed his schooling at Scindia School, Gwalior, and completed his graduation in commerce from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. He subsequently completed a Corporate Restructuring Mergers and Acquisitions (CRMA) program and Owner/President Management Program (OPM) from Harvard Business School. He is also a member of the Indo-Japanese Global partnership forum.
Ashish has developed a strong team of 200 people, with in-house verticals including acquisition, design, development, property management, hospitality leasing, and sales. He takes a keen interest in all phases, from design to development and the sales of each Real Estate project.
Over the last decade, his team has delivered ultra-premium residential projects, mid-segment housing, commercial Real Estate, IT parks, special economic zones, and retail.
Uniqueness at its Best
Aurum Ventures is a new-age Real Estate company with end-to-end capabilities, including acquisition, financing, design, construction, project management, property management, sales, leasing, hospitality, and PropTech.
The company has been developing seven million sq. ft. of Real Estate, including luxury residences, mid-segment housing, commercial offices, IT parks, special economic zones, and retail galleries across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
From Ashish Deora
“Our company is ‘A new age – fully integrated – Real Estate player-driven by technology.”
Our entrepreneurial and lateral team structure with ownership-driven functions and front-line empowerment, Aurum Ventures stands as the frontrunner setting new standards in the Real Estate industry.
Our key emphasis is on the environment hence “Our design philosophy puts the highest impetus on sustainability,” Ashish adds. Implementation of LEED standards across built spaces and ensuring high AQI in its developments are some of Aurum’s progress hallmarks.
Its capital allocation is also extraordinary. Aurum is one of India’s highest-rated Real Estate players, with a CRISIL BBB+ rating.
“We have prepaid ₹ 450 crores to lenders over the past five years,” Ashish says with satisfaction. Aurum has a proven track record of engaging and working constructively with Sovereign Wealth Funds.
The company’s initiatives ensure that its projects have generated immense employment, which has helped upgrade the micro-market. “Aurum also ensures transparency across all its practices,” says Ashish.
And when it comes to suppliers, Aurum treats them as equal collaborators in project development. “The focus is to ensure suppliers’ ease of execution,” Ashish adds. Aurum practices Value Engineering, focusing on putting money back into upgrading the scope and deliverables and increasing the supplier’s capability.
Overcoming Hurdles
Ashish believes that the Real Estate industry is facing several problems. Prevailing issues in the sector are majorly due to over leveraging and chasing growth with a lack of focus on cash flow management. “We believe in an efficient cash flow management and optimum leverage strategy for facilitating growth,” Ashish concluded.
Also, many developers often rely on third parties to execute projects. Due to a lack of ownership, there is a delay in execution. Aurum controls the entire project development process, including land acquisition, getting regulatory approvals, planning, designing, project management, construction, marketing, and sales. “This way, we have the end-to-end control,” Ashish adds.
Similarly, “Our marketing strategy involves creating an environment to induce trust and direct sales to the end-user,” he explains. While Ashish says that most of the industry focuses on target-driven aggressive sales strategies via brokers, it lacks a personal touch. “It leads to a mismatch of estimations,” he believes.
Furthermore, he feels that when it comes to corporate governance, a lack of processes and control leads to delays in project completion, resulting in penalties and delayed monetisation.
In contrast to this, “At Aurum, corporatization of systems and processes have been given utmost importance for smooth functioning,” states Ashish, adding further, “we have organized ourselves as a corporate entity rather than a developer.”
He states that Aurum is an entirely technology-driven company. “All of our functions – Design, PMC, Prop Management, and Hospitality – are heavily invested and driven by technology.”
In comparison, as per his experience, the conventional industry still follows unregulated operations, with a soft focus on technology.
And sustainability is the area where Aurum stands apart. “Sustainability of design and operational efficiency is the hallmark of our products,” he proclaims.
A Tech-savvy Approach
Tech is disrupting consumption, creation, and capital allocation in Real Estate like never before. It will create the same impact on Fintech as in the previous decade. With internet penetration and digital adoption reaching their highest levels, India is poised to embrace this technology-led disruption.
Ashish says there are four areas in tech that will impact Real Estate.
- Investment and Finance: Data-driven demand-supply analysis and real-time decision-making in Real Estate investments.
- Enterprise Efficiency: Smart ERP, the construction marketplace, CRMs, bots, etc., will bring efficiency to the Real Estate business by helping them construct and monetize Real Estate more efficiently.
- Consumer Experience: With real-time data available and tools like AI and ML, consumers’ purchase experience will enhance with transparency and trust.
- Connected Living: Various smart building technologies, IoT, and integrated building management systems will provide a seamless living experience for Real Estate owners and occupiers.
Leader’s Advice
Real Estate is one of the oldest industries in the world and is a significant contributor to every economy. “For the young investors, owners, occupiers, and professionals, it is important to realize that the business is moving from an old economy business to a new economy business,” Ashish adds.
Conventional investment is paving the way to fractional ownership. Traditional homes are giving way to smart homes. Conventional Real Estate ownership is giving way to co-living, and offices are giving way to coworking spaces. And Real Estate is giving way to PropTech.
“There is only one mantra they need to adopt – Embrace Technology!”
Thinking Ahead for the Future
In terms of the future prospects, Ashish reveals that Aurum is focusing on three aspects. A nuanced Capital Allocation platform; a robust Real Estate Development team; and an integrated PropTech Ecosystem.
“We will make a strategic investment in Real Estate projects, develop and build a diverse portfolio in residential and commercial Real Estate and roll out products and services in PropTech in B2B, B2C, and B2B2C areas,” he says.
To accomplish this mission in 2022 and beyond, Aurum has different strategies in consideration. They include diversifying the portfolio, taking advantage of the dislocation in the sector, harnessing technology to create demand, and continuing to deliver value to all its stakeholders.
Ashish concludes with a firm promise, “At Aurum, we always ensure that our customers get their value upgraded lifestyles and productivity; our suppliers get paid on time and can build their capabilities. And we are sensitive to our capital allocators and transparent to the regulators.”
Ashish’s Leadership Milestones
- In 1999, Ashish founded IOL Telecom, the first company to develop and sell optic fibre in Mumbai. Airtel, Reliance Infocomm, and Power Grid Corporation of India were some of this cutting-edge technology’s consumers.
- In 2003, Ashish pioneered a futuristic video-on-demand and IPTV venture.
- In 2006, Ashish invested in SpiceJet, a budget airline at the top of the industry today.
- In 2007, Ashish invested in Argentum Motors, the parent company of the then prevalent Daewoo Motors in India.
- In the early stages of 2009, the strong Real Estate leg of Aurum started with 7 Marine Drive (7MD), an ultra-luxurious residential skyscraper in the heart of south Mumbai. Ashish’s ability to connect macroeconomic principles of business to the consumer’s microeconomic needs resulted in 7MD being a runaway success.
- Later in 2011, Aurum co-incubated Renew Power, India’s largest renewable energy IPP.
- In 2012, Aurum got into junior mining, exploring the African continent and searching for gold and coal.
- In 2014, Aurum acquired seven million square feet of a mixed-use project in Navi Mumbai from CapitaLand.
- In 2015, Aurum launched top-tier commercial office spaces in Aurum Q Parc on Thane-Belapur Road.
- In 2016, in Q Parc, Aurum launched Aurum Q Residences, a premium, luxurious brand of residential skyscrapers. To date, Q Residences hold the highest market share in Navi Mumbai.
- In 2018, Aurum delivered the first pre-certified LEED Platinum office buildings in Navi Mumbai. Ascendas Singbridge, a sovereign wealth fund in Singapore, bought 1.4 million square feet of commercial space in Q Parć for ₹ 930 Crores.
- In 2020, Aurum launched Aurum Q Islands, residential, urban, and high-tech skyscrapers in Q Parc. Q Islands cuts commute times by allowing a walk-to-work culture for residents who work at offices in and around the campus.
- In March 2021, it acquired Majesco Limited, which is now Aurum PropTech Limited.
- In June 2021, Ashish Deora through Aurum became an anchor investor in Integrow. Integrow raised 1000 Cr realty fund which offers equity-like structured capital.
- In July 2021, Aurum PropTech Limited acquired a Pune-based software company K2V2 Technologies for ₹40 crores.
- In Oct 2021, it acquired a 49% stake in Integrow Asset Management Pvt. Ltd., a tech-led Real Estate Asset Management Company, for ₹25 crores, to enable the convergence of property technology and fintech.
- In December 2021, Aurum PropTech approved to invest of $5 million in rental management platform TheHouseMonk.
- In December 2021, Aurum PropTech approved raising up to ₹343.56 crores through a rights issue. The company issued 3 equity shares for every 2 shares. The rights issue was priced at ₹80 per share. Aurum confirmed they will subscribe to the full extent of all the unsubscribed shares in the Issue.
- In February 2022, Aurum PropTech acquired a 53% stake in co-living platform Grexter Housing Solutions.
- In March 2022, Aurum PropTech acquired a 100% stake in Bangalore-based HelloWorld: stock climbs ~3%
- In May 2022, Aurum PropTech buys Goldman Sachs-backed co’s arm HelloWorld, CareerSocially
